‘Militants sheltered in Bangladesh, Myanmar threat to Assam’

Guwahati, Nov 8 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Saturday said militant groups from the northeast of India sheltered in Bangladesh and Myanmar were posing a serious threat to the state.”I shall urge the external affairs ministry to help us plug the entry points along the border with Bangladesh and Myanmar to stop movement of militants,” the chief minister told journalists.

Gogoi said investigations into the serial bombings in Assam that killed 83 people and wounded 300 more Oct 30 was moving on in the right track.

“We have reached the semi-final stage of the investigations and very soon we shall be able to pinpoint those involved in the terror strike,” the chief minister said.

Gogoi said by the end of this year the state would have a police force of 65,000 with the government all set to recruit about 4,000 more.

“We have asked for strengthening the intelligence gathering mechanism, besides asking the centre to upgrade the Intelligence Bureau (IB) office here so that intelligence sharing can be more effective,” the chief minister said.